‘Tourists felt cheated’: Man who flagged Goa tourism data writes to Chief Minister

Ramanuj Mukherjee, an X user whose post on ‘declining’ tourism in Goa went viral, has now written an open letter to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant after a police complaint was filed against him. Defending his earlier post, Mukherjee said tourists “felt cheated” by their experiences in Goa.
In his letter to Sawant, Mukherjee wrote, “Your tourism department has filed a police complaint against me for sharing data of plummeting tourism in Goa which started this debate”.
He said that the complaint was filed against him for “disseminating false data through his social media X handles, thereby causing “significant annoyance to local businesses” and “inducing fear or alarm within the local community”.
He noted that officials in Sawant’s government had previously acknowledged a dip in tourist numbers during the 2024 Christmas and New Year season, suggesting the issue was not entirely new.
Mukherjee’s viral post drew attention to complaints from tourists, who, he said, “felt cheated” by their experiences in Goa. “This issue went viral because it led to an eruption of people’s feelings,” Mukherjee wrote, adding that visitors voiced frustrations after feeling let down by their trips to the state.
Highlighting the state of tourism in Goa, Mukherjee said, “Goa needs repeat tourist. People used to fall in love with Goa, and went back there every chance they got. They still will if not mistreated”.
Furthermore, he also asserted that the virality of his post was fueled more by these shared sentiments than by the specific data he presented.
“Even if the data shared by me was incorrect, you must realise that the data itself did not make the post viral. This issue went viral because it led to an eruption of people’s feelings. Tourists went to Goa and felt cheated. They spoke about their grievances,” he wrote on X.
Recalling his personal connection to the state, Mukherjee recalled his own visits to Goa and the bonds he built with local residents, including taxi drivers, landlords, and shopkeepers. “This morning, I find myself feeling their sadness and anxiety,” he wrote.
“If you have a political necessity to find a scapegoat in meâ€æ I am ready to suffer the consequences,” Mukherjee stated, adding, “But unfortunately, this will not solve any of your real problems”.
He ended the letter by urging Sawant to focus on long-term tourism solutions, stating, “India deserves no less, Goa deserves no less”.
In a post on November 5, Mukherjee raised concerns over the sharp decline in foreign tourists visiting Goa, comparing figures from 2019 to 2023 and said, “Foreign tourists have abandoned the state already. Russians and Brits who used to visit annually have opted for Sri Lanka instead”.
According to the data he shared, while Goa hosted 8 million domestic tourists in 2019, it also welcomed 8.5 million foreign visitors that year. However, by 2023, domestic tourist numbers remained stable at 8 million, whereas foreign tourist arrivals plunged dramatically to just 1.5 million.